First-year head coach at Southeast Missouri Tom Matukewicz has an easy solution to getting over difficult losses and he had to use it this week, following the Redhawks’ double-overtime loss to Murray State on Saturday.

“We have a philosophy that even when I first got here about having a next play mentality,” Matukewicz said. “Each win or each loss, you have a 24-hour period that you can celebrate or drive yourself crazy over thinking about it.”

Entering its road game at Murray State, Southeast Missouri was on the heels of its second win against a top-25 ranked FCS team. The Racers were 1-4 and 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, before beating the Redhawks 44-41 in Murray, Ky.

“After 24 hours you flush it,” Matukewicz said.

The Southeast Missouri coach said he’s not worried about having a let down against Eastern on Saturday, after the emotional loss to the Racers.

“That’s not going to be a problem with us,” he said. “If you look at our team, we’ve been down three or four touchdowns and we still play hard. We’ve been up three or four touchdowns and we still play hard. So, I think we’ll be able to bounce back well.”

The Panthers are coming off a tough loss as well, losing 36-33 in overtime at Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern coach Kim Dameron saw his team blow a 26-5 lead in the third quarter. He’s relying on the Panthers’ senior leadership to avoid dwelling on the defeat.

“What I’ve asked them to do is just not look at our overall record, what we’re trying to do right now is play this conference schedule,” Dameron said. “Right now we’re 1-1 and we have to continue to try and work hard, getting better and continue to get people in the right positions to be successful.”

With a 1-1 conference record, the Panthers are in fourth place in the standings, as Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State sit atop at 3-0, while Southeast Missouri is just ahead of Eastern at 2-1. Eastern still has six conference games left, including three at home following Saturday’s trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The loss to the Colonels was hard to get past, but a win at Southeast Missouri gets the Panthers back into the OVC title picture.

“We’ve got a good group of guys and a group of seniors that have been through this league for the last couple of years and have been very successful in it,” Dameron said. “They know that one loss doesn’t completely knock you out of the conference race.”

Eastern is the two-time defending OVC champions. The loss to Eastern Kentucky snapped a 14-game winning streak against conference opponents for the Panthers.

Despite the loss, Dameron said he did see a fight in his team that has not been present before.

“That was the first time all year long that we’ve gotten down and we actually came back,” he said.

Trailing 33-26 at Eastern Kentucky, the Panthers tied the game with a minute left, sending the game into overtime.

“I’m seeing signs of us being able to compete for 60 minutes,” Dameron said. “In every other game that we had played in, when adversity hit we never really answered too well.”

Dameron is hoping to use that positive heading into the Panthers’ second straight OVC road game against the Redhawks.

Meanwhile, Matukewicz said he knows Saturday’s matchup would be close against the Panthers.

“We’re going to be in a fourth-quarter game, hopefully each week,” Matukewicz said.

The Redhawks are 4-3 overall, and besides their 77-0 win over an NAIA team to start the season they have three wins by a combined 12 points.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].